What kind of monster only gives four stars to a book by Chesterton?! I admit part of the "problem" was likely just that my expectations of ChestertonWhat kind of monster only gives four stars to a book by Chesterton?! I admit part of the "problem" was likely just that my expectations of Chesterton are so darn high - but there was more I disagreed with, or thought about disagreeing with, in this book, from descriptions of prehistoric man that I thought perhaps a bit scientifically out-of-date, to the fact that this book is slightly more explicitly Roman Catholic than "Orthodoxy" (which, of course, he did not write as a Catholic).

The back of this book calls it "his whole view of world history as informed by the Incarnation" - but I rather like a comment Chesterton makes in the first appendix, where he says the book is "not meant as a study of the things that need to be studied. It is rather a reminder of things that are seen so quickly that they are forgotten almost as quickly". And that is really the genius of Chesterton, to point out things that should be obvious but which our culturally-conditioned minds regularly overlook. And he does an excellent job making Christianity feel weird, and different, and alive, as it should.

So I do quite recommend the book - and because I like ending with a quotation, have one drawn almost at random (except it is one of many I highlighted):

"We have already noted that this paradox appeared also in the treatment of the early Church. It was important while it was still insignificant, and certainly while it was still impotent. It was important solely because it was intolerable; and in that sense it is true to say that it was intolerable because it was intolerant. It was resented, because, in its own still and almost secret way, it had declared war. It had risen out of the ground to wreck the heaven and earth of heathenism. It did not try to destroy all that creation of gold and marble; but it contemplated a world without it. It dared to look right through it as through the gold and marble had been glass. Those who charged the Christians with burning down Rome with firebrands were slanderers; but they were at least far nearer to the nature of Christianity than those among the moderns who tell us that the Christians were a sort of ethical society, being martyred in a languid fashion for telling men they had a duty to their neighbors, and only mildly disliked because they were meek and mild."...more

An interesting book, especially for a Protestant who pays attention to the Roman Catholic Church, but hasn't paid much attention to its recent internaAn interesting book, especially for a Protestant who pays attention to the Roman Catholic Church, but hasn't paid much attention to its recent internal politics (and my, apparently there are a lot of them). The book is really a discussion of Pope Francis and how he might be changing the Catholic Church, with especial attention to the possibility of communion for the divorced and remarried, and all that might mean. (See also a prophetic comment that any Catholics who favor allowing the death penalty will soon be out of step with the modern magisterium.) It's a fair book, in the sense that Douthat knows he can't get inside Francis' mind and tell you exactly what is going on, so he presents many possibilities, and seems to settle on the answers most concerning to conservative Catholics.

Of course, I personally especially appreciated the examinations of Church history, from the "three ways to understand Vatican II", to the somewhat humorous story of Celestine V who, after being forced into the papacy, soon declared a right of papal resignation and got out of there, to a discussion of the Jansenist v. Jesuit conflict of the 17th century (we Calvinists do love to read Pascal). One also gets a presentation of some less-discussed Catholic doctrines, for example the idea that God will never put someone in a situation where intentionally continuing in sin is the best possible option (seen as one reason why communion for the divorced and remarried should be permitted). Or exactly what is required for a marriage to be considered valid by the Church, how that came about historically, and what to make of the fact that the world must be filled with Roman Catholics who don't know they are technically in marriages unrecognized by the Church.

One also certainly gets the sense of just how messy Catholicism is internally, which is not the picture the Church wants to present to potential Protestant converts at all. Actually at times reading the book I found myself wondering why Douthat is still Roman Catholic... but I think I say that as someone who, for a long time, has tended to think that if you reject any of the Catholic claims to authority, that would defeat the point of being Catholic. Lately though I tend to think... actually probably a lot of Catholics do reject some of those claims, you could still believe Roman Catholicism is the intended Church of Christ and preserves traditions largely ignored in alternatives, and still not quite believe in the whole "dogmatic package".

A quick and interesting, and recommended, read, you will learn things even if you disagree with Douthat's conclusions....more

A strange but interesting book, think it was recommended in a Rod Dreher blog post. Big idea - written by an historian of religion who essentially sayA strange but interesting book, think it was recommended in a Rod Dreher blog post. Big idea - written by an historian of religion who essentially says "why do even religious studies departments, whose own data is filled with the paranormal, find it professionally impossible to consider it in a serious way?". He then goes through four authors who did consider it seriously, shares a few crazy stories, and spends most of the time talking about the conclusions they drew.

If you're wondering, near as I can tell the author is not an adherent of any traditional faith - in fact he seems even more annoyed by the "easy answers" to these phenomena offered by traditional religion, as he does the effective denials of science that the (many, many) reported strange incidents ever actually happened. He ends the book actually retelling the 20th century Fatima affair from the perspective that it sure sounds a lot like a typical UFO story, so that gives you some idea. A couple of the "conclusions" I found interesting:

1. The repeated suggestion that... something that paranormal events tend to have in common is that they contain some meaning for the person(s) involved, in fact it's almost like "we're characters in a story someone else is writing". Christian says AHEM. But especially as the authors tend to reject the idea of a transcendent God (at least as traditionally conceived), what they actually reminded me more of was sci-fi stories where we've gotten so good at creating virtual realities and artificial intelligences, that the characters we create don't realize they're just characters on a computer server somewhere. And then you get to the end of the story and you learn, of course, SO ARE WE.

2. The idea that humans are some combination of the transcendent or spiritual, and the biological. Plenty of stories here about humans who know things they have no way of knowing through their biological senses (or doing, or being, or whatever). And yet the biological nature of humans is, of course, undeniable - people suffer brain damage, get older, get diseases, their functionality is impaired in serious ways. How to reconcile those two facts? And so what you're left with (though he doesn't like this word) is the idea that the brain is some kind of filter that unites the transcendent and the physical. And then (because the author has no problem with the idea of biological evolution), you have to ask yourself how a biological organ came to be so well-suited to this task, and at that point he essentially proposes some kind of intelligent design guiding the evolution of the organ. (Again, he doesn't really believe in a "god" though, so exactly what form that would take and who is doing the designing he's pretty vague on.)

3. The idea (and I think this is why Rod recommended the book) that what we are able to perceive is somehow conditioned by language and culture. So, it is well known in Christianity that "supernatural interactions" (demon sightings, miraculous healings, etc.) seem to happen more frequently outside the United States than they do inside the United States, and nobody knows why, though various ideas are suggested. This author might say, to put it simply, we can't see such things because we have conditioned ourselves not to see them. Your thinking and even perception is not as "free" as you might think.

PS he says lots of stuff about quantum physics I found, at best, extremely speculative. You know how this goes - quantum physics says some really weird stuff, here I am observing some really weird stuff, maybe there is some connection. OK, it's slightly more concrete than that, but still extremely speculative....more

Patrick Deneen argues that liberalism's 500-year ascendancy is coming to an end, the victim of its own success. Liberalism might be (quickly) definedPatrick Deneen argues that liberalism's 500-year ascendancy is coming to an end, the victim of its own success. Liberalism might be (quickly) defined as individual autonomy in all things - it treats humans as atomized individuals owing nothing to anyone else past or present, but in fact assumes an independence for human life that no human has ever experienced or would want to. In modern life, it is seen in the economic sphere as globalized, markets-in-everything capitalism, and in the social sphere as unlimited "expressive individualism". Its continuation in a nation depends upon being counterbalanced by strong social institutions and social norms, but as it cares only about individuals, it also weakens those same institutions and norms, resulting in an ever growing and more controlling state to compensate, less and less under the rein of the people whose liberty it is supposedly securing. And, rooted in a false anthropology, liberalism makes promises it has never and could never fulfill, promising unlimited personal choice in all things, but now producing a world in which, in many ways, many of its citizens feel carried along by forces outside their control. What shall come after it, and what can we do to promote the best successor possible?

That is a very quick summary of an excellent book - I don't give five stars to books very often on Goodreads. Almost every paragraph has something important to say. A lot of us sense something is amiss in America today, and will point to this thing, and this thing, and this thing - Deneen pulls all of that into one coherent historical and philosophical story and it is, actually, pretty remarkable how much sense it makes. Might write a blog post in a bit with some quotations I especially liked - the goal there will be to avoid transcribing the book. Recommended....more

Just enough science fiction to satisfy the sci-fi reader - but the science is not the point and so usually goes unexplained, it merely provides the seJust enough science fiction to satisfy the sci-fi reader - but the science is not the point and so usually goes unexplained, it merely provides the setting. As Bradbury says in the introduction, the book is "myth, seen in mirrors, incapable of being touched". I shared one quotation on Twitter and someone replied that it was "downright Chestertonian", and indeed he does remind me somewhat of G.K. Chesterton's fiction.

On that note Bradbury is an observer and explainer of human nature (even if Martians are the ones displaying it)... perhaps for that very reason some of these stories have a dark note to them, especially toward the end of the book. He likes surprising parallelism (in one story a human and Martian, both out of time, encounter each other and initially each think the other to be a phantom). The second to last story, about the intelligent home continuing on in life long after its humans are gone, is strikingly modern and plausible for a book written in 1950 (and also probably the most science-fictiony story in this collection of short stories).

I will not spoil the fiction for you, but a quick and enjoyable read that will provoke you to some good thinking....more

A good read - if you follow me on Twitter (@david_shane) I did tweet many snips from it as I went, a sort of endorsement on my part! Chaput at his besA good read - if you follow me on Twitter (@david_shane) I did tweet many snips from it as I went, a sort of endorsement on my part! Chaput at his best at the beginning of the book when he's doing cultural and historical analysis and toward the end when he is emphasizing the importance of beauty... as someone much more comfortable in the land of "argument", in the classical sense, myself, it is good for me to keep in mind that mere argument is quite an ineffective way to move anybody when it comes to something like religion. (As Pascal said, one must make good men wish Christianity were true, before trying to demonstrate to them that it is.) A bit weaker, I thought, in some of his theological reflections - "spoken just like a Protestant reviewing a book by a Roman Catholic!", you say, well perhaps. I also thought he went out of his way to quote papal comments unnecessarily when his own writing is much more direct and unambiguous!

Those looking for a grand plan on how Christians need to reorganize their institutions in light of the coming storm will not find it here - when it comes to "how to respond" the book's primary advice is to remember that, first of all, we are all called to live as saints. Perhaps not the answer we want but probably the best answer that can be given (though there is room for institutional preparation as well, as he would acknowledge.) And there are plenty of good reminders here of how... difficult, in a sense, and strange, a Christian life well-lived really is. We are all tempted daily to live just like the world, plus maybe a little additional friendliness, but the Christian calling is more rigorous that that. Like many good sermons, perhaps those sections of the book don't teach you anything "new", but they do remind you of things you need to be reminded of regularly.

(PS - especially appreciated the chapter that quoted extensively from the Letter to Diognetus. No problem we face is ever completely new.)

Finally a couple snips to get a sense of his writing:

"All of which underscores a simple fact: The surest way to transform a culture is from the inside out. And the surest path to doing so isn't through reasoned debate (too tedious) or violence (too costly) but by colonizing and reshaping the culture's appetite and behaviors."

"Love brought our world into being. And love, in its material form as undeserved beauty and unearned gift, disarms the intellect and touches the soul. But for a certain kind of modern thinking, this is not acceptable. Rather, it's the worst sort of insult to our vanity: Beauty makes us conscious of realities and truths we did not create and do not command."...more

Interesting collection of sci-fi short stories that tend toward the darker side - been a while since I read some short stories. Several are "futurist"Interesting collection of sci-fi short stories that tend toward the darker side - been a while since I read some short stories. Several are "futurist", many do what sci-fi does best, which is talk about a contemporary or universally human issue from a perspective that is not possible if you must confine yourself to reality as it happens to be right now... make you see the present world in a different way without ever actually mentioning the present world. Stories about aliens, lots of stories about artificial intelligences (a nice way to probe what it means to be human), a collection of stories from a dystopian world in which most of humanity was intentionally killed off by the government, and more. The author is quite creative. A quotation on the cover says the collection is like rediscovering a season of The Twilight Zone - I wouldn't say all the stories fit that description, but a few could easily be turned into episodes of a rebooted Twilight Zone!

Didn't read every single story - skipped the one the author said was the most gruesome story he'd ever written, skipped a couple others that were barely disguised political polemic, the authors uber-left politics shining through. But glad I picked up the book....more

It has been my experience that the more you know Church history, the more you realize that, one, it's a lot messier than anyone today would really likIt has been my experience that the more you know Church history, the more you realize that, one, it's a lot messier than anyone today would really like and, two, stuff was being done and believed in the first couple centuries that would made adherents of any modern tradition uncomfortable in places. But it is no criticism of the legitimacy of the Church just to point out that life is often messy.

Here historian Justo Gonzalaz traces a history of the Christian understanding of the first day of the week. He begins with an early Church that saw it as a day of celebration and worship, but not really as a new "Sabbath" or mandated day of rest (most Christians really being unable to control when there were permitted to rest anyway), and which often interpreted the related commandment in a spiritual rather than more literal manner. (I also found the details of early Church worship especially interesting.) He then progresses through Constantine and a gradual growth in the idea that Sunday was now the Sabbath in some way (with associated legal mandates for rest, now that Church and state were allies), and then through arguments about exactly what scripture or the Church required pre- and post-Reformation (if anything!). Along the way there are plenty of linguistic and other cultural tidbits - does Sunday begin at sundown or midnight? How did the fact that many languages kept calling Saturday "Sabbath" or some derivative affect the thinking of people who spoke those languages? He then walks through the growth of Seventh-Day-Sabbatarianism and then American Puritan ideas and laws about the Sabbath that were codified to a really Pharisaical degree. And he finally concludes with the more disputable present day when many Christians (at least until very recently) place less emphasis on the first day of the week than Christians have for perhaps a millenia... but in other ways might be closer in thought to the early Church than they realize.

A recommend and interesting read with lots of fun information that cannot be captured in mere summary....more

A fun read actually, and also a (pardon the pun) classic work on the subject, I'm told, though I did not know that when I picked it up. I love reading history because you realize, certainly in this book, that all people were fundamentally just like ourselves, which makes the study of them also the study of ourselves. And there are also therefore many parallels between their history and our present. (As I said on Twitter, regarding the chapter on comedy - the jokes still work! Because they were just like us) Indeed the author herself takes that view, as she says toward the end,

"History repeats itself. The fact is a testimony to human stupidity. The saying has become a truism; nevertheless, the study of the past is relegated to the scholar and the school-boy. And yet it is really a chart for our guidance - no less than that. Where we now are going astray and losing ourselves, other men once did the same, and they left a record of the blind alleys they went down. We are like youth that can never learn from age - but youth is young, and wisdom is for the mature. We that are grown should not find it impossible to learn from the ages-old recorded experience of the past."

That is an extended quote, and perhaps more pessimistic than most in the book, but in truth the author has little asides on what this or that means for our understanding of humanity scattered throughout. The tone is light, and the book quite a pleasant read. I do wonder sadly if it could be written today, as it is rather poetically politically-incorrect in a way that didn't matter when originally penned, especially when talking about the sexes. A recommended read for sure. I have been sharing some especially loved quotations on social media and shall probably write a blog post of the same shortly, but better to read the whole....more

A very pleasant and poetic read from a 747 pilot who has not lost his sense of wonder at what it is to fly. For aircraft passengers, it is also a stupA very pleasant and poetic read from a 747 pilot who has not lost his sense of wonder at what it is to fly. For aircraft passengers, it is also a stupendous glance into what life is like on the "other side" of the operation - other reviewers have mentioned that the book made them love flying again, and if you're scared to fly, I would imagine seeing that "other side" might mitigate your fears as well. You can certainly also tell, reading the book, that the author is well read into classical works, and also the son of a Christian missionary, as both are quite apparent in the allusions he makes and descriptions he writes.

As someone who teaches Physics, I was also pleasantly surprised that, while this is not primarily a book about the Physics of airplanes, Physics is everywhere in the book - and not just those old standbys of lift, drag, and thrust. The author talks about the various ways a plane senses altitude (pressure, GPS, radio transmissions), and how weather and temperature might affect those measurements. The four different types of velocity a pilot might care to know and why they all matter (and how they are measured, and how changing conditions affect those measurements). How actually flying the plane is affected by hanging the engines from the wing, and therefore below the center of mass. What wind striking the front surfaces of a plane does to it (jets fly fast enough that, even in -70F temperatures, flying faster will actually warm the wings up). Etc., etc., those are just a few examples, Physics is everywhere in the book, and I may actually use it in the creation of an Honors Option for one of my classes....more

I read Rod's blog all the time, so not a lot in this book that was new to me, but a good summary of his thinking, and lots of very practical tips on wI read Rod's blog all the time, so not a lot in this book that was new to me, but a good summary of his thinking, and lots of very practical tips on what an intentionally Christian "counter-culture", or maybe we should just say "culture", would look like, in a nation whose hostility to orthodox Christianity seems to be increasing. (And if you don't read Rod's blog, I would triple-recommend this book to you - you could go through the whole thing on a Saturday.) I especially liked:

1. The historical "how our culture developed the view of humanity it has today" summary - that view being a sort of technologically enabled belief in the validity and goodness of nearly ALL attempts to conform the universe to our desires, rather than conforming ourselves to a good pre-existing order God has established. (And yes, there is an awful lot packed in that little phrase.) Yes, that worldview has been developing in its way for a millenia. Yes, it's a bit crazy to cover a millenia in a chapter - but you can trace out broad trends. Anyway, by default Americans can't remember what was going on two weeks ago, we are very much a "live in the present" (and the future) people... in fact that's part of the problem. So I appreciate the history.

2. Like I said, lots of very practical tips in this book, for individuals, parents, schools, and churches. How can we respond to attempts, via the law and just social pressure, to make life difficult for public Christians, professionally? Well, maybe your church could publish a directory of congregant-owned businesses to help us all support each other economically. How can we respond to an education system that, in many ways anyway, is increasingly anti-Christian in the worldview it promotes? Well here's an example of a Christian co-op on the campus of this public university, and here is an example of a classical Christian school, and here are some resources you mind find helpful if you're homeschooling. Lots of practical advice.

3. Appreciated his very conscious attempt to speak to all lowercase-o orthodox Christians (although he did use a capital-O, I think quite unintentionally, on a few occasions!). It does feel like the greatest divide in Christianity today is really between those who believe in a primary source of authority outside of themselves, and those who see themselves, and their own experiences, as the final judge.

Stuff you might complain about:

1. Rod clearly loves tradition, in a way and to an extent that will make some Protestants uncomfortable. You know, it's probably true, in a culture as rootless as our own ("liquid modernity" is a nice phrase he uses), that careful attention to almost any worldview tradition, even a bad one, is protection against some of the malaise of our day. Eh.

2. A lot of these chapters could easily be books on their own - you could easily write a book about how Christians might offer economic support to each other as the culture becomes less hospitable. You could easily write a whole book and then some about how Christians should work (and not work) with technology. But this was a good survey.

3. I am always a little worried about making this "increasingly anti-Christian culture!" thing into a self-fulfilling prophecy... I am not optimistic, but I could see things turning around. Rod is certainly convinced that the dominant worldview of our culture is unsustainable and, in various ways, is going to fall apart... clearly he doesn't think this is going to happen for a long time and so we need to prepare to weather the storm. But everything happens so quickly these days...

If you wanted to summarize this book in one sentence, that sentence might be something like "we have forgotten what life is supposed to be about, andIf you wanted to summarize this book in one sentence, that sentence might be something like "we have forgotten what life is supposed to be about, and that has messed everything up" - in a personal way, yes, but especially in this book in a social and national way. Or perhaps, to take a sentence from this book, "It is hard to get people to see things that are missing... to illustrate something strange has happened to us". We do not realize what we are missing or have forgotten. Or perhaps simply "modern America is incompetent at civilization and here is what we need to do about it"! "We are incompetent in the ordinary things of life", Esolen writes in the introduction, before rattling off an extended list of things our "benighted" ancestors were clearly better at than we.

Esolen himself is an English professor and the book is pleasant to read and filled with literary allusions - a book like this almost had to be written by an English professor, because you cannot make the sort of cases he wants to make with statistics. You can make them with, "let's see what people have been saying about this for centuries". ("If people have always said it, it is probably true; it is the distilled wisdom of the ages. If people have not always said it, but everybody is saying it now, it is probably a lie; it is the concentrated madness of the moment.", he writes early in the book.) In terms of chapters the book talks about - truth (giving things their proper names), beauty, childhood education, college education, manhood, womanhood, work, play, and politics - and then ends with a chapter reminding us we are all pilgrims, and that we cannot rebuild culture if our first concern is culture. "Seek first the kingdom of God..

This is a good book for Christians to read, I think, to shock them out of their unconsidered love-affair with the world - and I use "unconsidered" quite intentionally. No matter how counter-cultural we imagine ourselves to be, we live in this culture, we breathe it in every day, we accept stuff as normal or even good without thinking about it that some of our ancestors would have taken to be a sign of moral collapse immediately. We largely accept the worldview of the nation around us, and then offer little Christian tweaks to it here and there - the tweaks are good, but Esolen is here to say "the whole way you are thinking about this topic is wrong! We did not use to think this way or act this way at all. Can you remember?" Oftentimes my favorite books to read are those that make you realize that our culture has made a choice about the way it approaches a certain matter, and however inevitable and (in-fact) unchosen that might seem to someone living in that culture, there is another way to think. Perhaps a better way.

The book is not perfect, you could perhaps rightly claim that he is too nostalgic at times, or too little concerned with how globalization and technological change have made difficult his suggestions. Perhaps also worth noting that this may be the least politically correct book I have ever read! A worthwhile read, certainly....more

Don't pick this up if you're expecting a traditional Christian apologetic - it is very much a book of philosophy, but it is good to read philosophy frDon't pick this up if you're expecting a traditional Christian apologetic - it is very much a book of philosophy, but it is good to read philosophy from time to time. Plantinga essentially argues, especially pulling from Aquinas and Calvin, that Christian belief could have warrant - not that Christianity is true, note, but rather something more along the lines of "if something like Christianity is true, then rational well-thinking people could have warrant for believing in it". So... back one step, if you will. (Of course, he also thinks it is true, but that is not his thrust here.)

The biggest complaint you might raise to such a book is simply that very few of the objections people raise to Christianity these days take place on such a philosophical level - I think "I don't need Christianity" or "Christians/Christianity is immoral/bad" are a lot more common these days. All the same... it is good to think about what it *means* to *know* something, and I think Christians in particular will be better for having thought through the book....more

Picked it up by sight at a local bookstore - didn't even finish reading it actually. Book starts very slow, nothing even really sci-fi for the first tPicked it up by sight at a local bookstore - didn't even finish reading it actually. Book starts very slow, nothing even really sci-fi for the first third. Flat characters, a lot of implausible stuff happening for a book that is supposedly "hard" sci-fi. The mocking of religion was when I finally put it down. Meh....more

Fun read - not as gripping as the first, especially in the first third or so, but hang with it. Rather dark ending, I thought. Like the first, containFun read - not as gripping as the first, especially in the first third or so, but hang with it. Rather dark ending, I thought. Like the first, contains extended sections that really discuss the author's research and ideas about various "non-fiction" matters related the Biblical theology, Nazi conspiracies, and the like! I found these (and sometimes the science mentioned along with them) rather less plausible than in the first novel, and found the whole novel less plausible on the whole than the first, but still a fun read. The book did make me wonder about the benefits of presenting non-fiction ideas in a fiction-format generally to encourage readership....more

Probably not too many books that get categorized as both "science fiction" and "alien contact", and get recommended as a primer on the subject by a buProbably not too many books that get categorized as both "science fiction" and "alien contact", and get recommended as a primer on the subject by a bunch of serious proponents of the "UFO phenomena". Also probably not too many science fiction books written by Christian ancient-language scholars that feature flawed Christians with Christian concerns acting as flawed Christians do (it would be neat to see more serious Christians in sci-fi). So an interesting and fun read... I don't want to give too much away. I will say the book reminded me of Atlas Shrugged actually inasmuch as the main character is a vehicle to give voice to some of the author's particular intellectual passions - if you've read "Unseen Realm" and are familiar with Heiser's thoughts on the "divine council" he sees in several Bible passages, and his thoughts on passages like the beginning of Genesis 6, some of the stuff in this book will seem quite familiar. Now as to the stuff about ETs... actually one wonders how much of what is said the author himself believes and how much is pure storytelling. Fun read. Haven't read the sequel but given the ending... I think he expected to write a sequel....more

As we are now, I suppose, ancient coin collectors of the most minor sort, decided to get a very broad overview of the history of coinage - this book,As we are now, I suppose, ancient coin collectors of the most minor sort, decided to get a very broad overview of the history of coinage - this book, which I came across in a used bookstore (yes they still exist), served that end well....more

Classic Cold War thriller with an interesting premise - combination of technical and human malfunctions result in a nuclear bomber squadron being giveClassic Cold War thriller with an interesting premise - combination of technical and human malfunctions result in a nuclear bomber squadron being given the "go" order to bomb Moscow. Some eerily prophetic side comments (one about the possibility of a commercial airliner making a suicide run at New York for example - this book was written in the 60s remember). Only three stars because the book could have been half this length with no loss - a strangely large amount of time detailing character histories that just don't matter very much....more

A good book to read for any American Christians tempted to think the goal of life is to be comfortable... which is probably just about all of us. ThisA good book to read for any American Christians tempted to think the goal of life is to be comfortable... which is probably just about all of us. This is not a very complicated book, the chapters tend to be 3-5 pages each, and even the names are often changed in these short stories of the lives of persecuted Christians in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. And for the most part these are not the stories that make the news, the threats and violence and legal punishments, however terrible, are too personal and too much "just the daily risk you take being a public Christian in these parts of the world" - all the more reason to read them. These are the stories of people who share the good news they know no matter the risk, because they're longing for a better country....more

"The rootlessness of life in a globalizing world, the widespread skepticism about all institutions and authorities, the religious relativism that make"The rootlessness of life in a globalizing world, the widespread skepticism about all institutions and authorities, the religious relativism that makes every man a God unto himself - these forces have clearly weakened the traditional Christian churches. But they are also forces that Christianity has confronted successfully before. From a weary Pontius Pilate asking Jesus 'what is truth?' to Saint Paul preaching beside the Athenian altar to an 'unknown God', the Christian gospel originally emerged as a radical alternative in a civilization as rootless and cosmopolitan and relativistic as our own. There may come a moment when the loss of Christianity's cultural preeminence enables believers to recapture some of that original radicalism. Maybe it's already here, if only Christians could find a way to shed the baggage of a vanished Christendom and speak the language of this age."

Recommended. Douthat says his goal here is "to persuade even the most skeptical reader that traditional Christian faith might have more to offer this country than either its flawed defenders or its fashionable enemies would lead one to believe." Be that as it may, I think I appreciated the book more for its pieces than for its grand arc. The second half, for example, discusses various "heresies" in American life - most especially the prosperity gospel ("pray and grow rich"), seeking the God within, and nationalism. Take the first of those - I just didn't know much about the history of prosperity gospel development, and the precise statements and lives of prosperity gospel preachers. When you believe something is wrong, you don't often spend the time to learn more about it, so I appreciated the deeper discussion I found here. I also, as I always do, appreciated the strong sense you got from the second half of the book that America has a lot of religions and areas where religious impulses find expression - from environmentalism to the cult of the presidency - that would never refer to themselves as religious movements. (Is Oprah really a preacher of sorts? You bet.)

The first half of the book is history - "how did we get here?". Take a stroll through, especially, early and mid 20th century American political and religious life to see how the religious (and political) instincts of modern Americans took form, from the utopia-defeating shock of WWI to the unity of the Civil Rights movement. Again, I learned a lot, did a lot of highlighting. I don't expect many non-Christians to read this book but... they could, and they also would learn a lot, probably about what they believe about the world too.

"Nearly 17,000 American servicemen were killed in 1968, the single bloodiest year of the Vietnam War. In the United States in 2014, an estimated 32,67"Nearly 17,000 American servicemen were killed in 1968, the single bloodiest year of the Vietnam War. In the United States in 2014, an estimated 32,675 American lives were snuffed out - not by war, but in ordinary car crashes. Numerically, this death toll is the equivalent of a jetliner packed with 300 passengers falling out of the sky every three days for an entire year. It's more than three times as many people killed in one year as died on 9/11, plus the American service people killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan combined in the decade and a half since, and nearly three times the number of Americans killed annually in homicides by guns. Most of these crashes involve simple and preventable actions such as speeding, which was a factor in 29 percent of traffic deaths in 2013, or drinking alcohol (31 percent). Yet there is no corresponding revulsion or even sustained outrage as the persistence of needless and preventable deaths. It's unimaginable that such a toll would go almost unnoticed in any other field, industry, profession, or practice."

A good read on how to improve street life (and successful efforts to do so), especially by changing street design, by a former New York City transportation commissioner. An especially good read if you have any direct power over city streets (like, if you're a transportation commissioner), or if you provide input to those who do. Might've gotten one more star for the content, but I didn't like that:

1. The author seems to be the hero of every story - you'll just have to look past that.

2. Every story seems to have this "but then we made the changes, and everyone loved them" ending. Having heard some of the comments from people on the "other side", I'm just wondering how accurate that depiction really is.

That said, stuff I especially liked:

1. As regards the quotation above, the point that cars are very dangerous devices, and we routinely explain away deaths that could have been prevented by better street design or proper driving as "accidents". We shouldn't. We should care much more than we do about road safety. Safety should be our top concern in road design.

2. Just how inexpensive a lot of the road changes they made were - sometimes, literally, the cost of paint. Cities without a lot of money should feel encouraged. And they should read the book to get ideas and to believe the ideas are possible.

3. On a related note, how extraordinarily inexpensive bicycle infrastructure is compared to automobile. It provokes public complaints way way way out of proportion to its actual cost. Over three years during their "bike lane madness", New York City spent $8 million on bike lanes. For perspective, a project to paint the Brooklyn Bridge and rehabilitate its approaches, just one bridge, cost $508 million.

4. The tendency the public has to defend the status quo, whatever that status quo may be. I, too, have seen an awful lot of public input sessions do nothing but provide a bunch of mutually contradictory "input" to public leaders. The author's strategy, which certainly carries more political risk, seems to have been to let the data drive the policy (explaining it as well as you could), and trust that once your work is done, people will like it. And by her reporting, in almost every case, they loved it. (That simplifies what she did, but it's not a terrible summary.) I do think "instead of talking interminably about it, let's just try it" is often a better way forward....more

A fun book to read - especially because it is an old book, and because it is an unfinished book, one does not often get to read a book in progress. VeA fun book to read - especially because it is an old book, and because it is an unfinished book, one does not often get to read a book in progress. Very quotable especially in our internet age - you will probably come across quotes you recognize and appreciate them more in context, and also come across some great passages and wonder why nobody ever quotes them. Found it a bit amusing that he clearly dislikes "Calvinists", which I believe is his blanket term for Protestants, when some modern day Calvinists (like John Piper) love to quote some of the stuff Pascal says about men pursuing happiness in all their endeavors (indeed, it sounds quite Calvinist to modern Calvinist ears). You can, er, read more of the book if you know Latin, with Pascal uses quite often and without apology. He is definitely an author that follows reason wherever it seems to go (whether you agree it goes there or not) - his great concern with some topics, like miracles, will probably seem like an inappropriate focus to many modern Christian readers. At his best when he's talking philosophy. Recommended....more

An interesting book that takes issue with the idea that "denser is always better" when it comes to city growth. Actually the book barely felt like anAn interesting book that takes issue with the idea that "denser is always better" when it comes to city growth. Actually the book barely felt like an argument as much as it felt like a collection of statistics, which I like. In short - dense city developments tend to work well for young professionals and very wealthy people, and also attract poorer individuals that serve these last two groups. They tend not to work well, especially, for families, that need more space at a reasonable price, and also value things like privacy and good schools that dense cities often lack. So the book is, in a way, a defense of suburbs, from both a theoretical perspective and from a "look at the surveys, people who live in the suburbs tend to actually like it there" perspective. If you're wondering if you live in a suburb, if you live in a house (and not in the countryside), not an apartment, then you probably do, as far this author is concerned....more

I read a little more than half this book - not because I didn't like it, but because OK, I'm convinced! You do not know any consistent way to beat theI read a little more than half this book - not because I didn't like it, but because OK, I'm convinced! You do not know any consistent way to beat the market, you may as well just buy and hold an index fund. OK. Little bit uncomfortable that (as the author admits) this strategy will only continue to work as long as a sufficient number of people continue to believe they can beat the market, but that's life in investing sometimes. Some of the little behavioural studies mentioned were my favorite parts of the book....more

Have heard this author interviewed a few times and enjoyed it, so decided to pick up the book when I saw it at our local bookstore. I think I had theHave heard this author interviewed a few times and enjoyed it, so decided to pick up the book when I saw it at our local bookstore. I think I had the same reaction to it I have to Ayn Rand's stuff which is - there is a lot of good stuff in this book, a lot of stuff to help you do well in this world, and you should not make it your Bible. Because people do, and that's sad. In fact you should probably have a Bible and read it, and filter what you read here through those priorities and those lessons, otherwise you'll just be chasing another idol.

Truly though - good tips here that will probably help make you successful in life by most of our world's standards (which are not all bad by any means), and will probably help make you money. None of it was really shocking to me, but then I have heard the author interviewed a few times and the book is well known. Clearly he thinks of money as basically part of a game, and whatever you need to do to win that game, long as it isn't illegal and pretty much regardless of how it affects others - you go for it. And clearly he thinks your mental position and attitude is the primary determiner in whether you become poor, middle class, or rich - and again, asking people to look at themselves before they go complaining about others is usually good advice! I would recommend the book, read it in just two days myself, just don't order your whole life around the stuff you read in it....more

Just one of those $5 books you grab from the bookstore, and I only read parts of it, but I enjoyed it. Did not realize that many people hypothesized tJust one of those $5 books you grab from the bookstore, and I only read parts of it, but I enjoyed it. Did not realize that many people hypothesized the existence of some sort of continent near Australia to "balance" the others!...more

A fascinating book. Heiser's primary contention is that we have lost, or at least severely under-emphasize, the "supernaturalness" of the worldview ofA fascinating book. Heiser's primary contention is that we have lost, or at least severely under-emphasize, the "supernaturalness" of the worldview of the Biblical authors. Heiser digs deep into scripture (especially the Old Testament) as a linguist and expert in ancient cultures, and has no problem bringing extra-Biblical sources in to help him get a better grasp of the intent and meaning of the authors of scripture. Note that he believes in inerrancy and would probably call himself an evangelical Protestant (but clearly not a Calvinist). He would also probably take it as a compliment to say that he believes in "let's get back to what the text actually says" - using all the findings of modern linguistics and archaeology to help us, and regardless of how much church tradition might say something different. Some of his major thrusts are:

1. God rules creation through a "divine council". Just as humans participate in the governance of creation (we aren't just God's robots), so too divine beings participate in an interactive way in that governance. I think many Christians have the idea that there is God, angels, and demons, and God rules as monarch on high with angels merely carrying out his orders. Heiser pulls passages like 1st Kings 22 to show what you might call conversational decision making between Yahweh and other "elohim" (spiritual beings), although he would not dispute for a moment that Yahweh is unique, God Almighty. And then he finds evidence of this divine council everywhere in scripture, often in passages you could easily breeze right through without really considering what is being said.

2. The strange passage in Genesis 6 is indeed about spiritual beings procreating with human women and producing unusually large offspring. And in some way those offspring (and their offspring) are still around post-Flood, either because the Flood wasn't global or because the spiritual misbehavior continued. And then he sees the "holy war" carried out by Israel under Joshua as having, as primary goal, the elimination of the bloodline of these rebellious elohim - that is why God is so concerned that every man, woman, and child be eliminated (passages so difficult for modern Christians). Certainly not a proposal I'd heard before.

3. The Tower of Babel incident is extremely important for understanding the Old Testament worldview. By that affair God is "disinheriting" that nations and giving them over to other gods (real spiritual beings). He then chooses Abraham to begin his own special people, and the rest of the Bible is in some sense "reclaiming lost ground".

4. Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament were intentionally cryptic in order to prevent Satan and his forces from deciphering, and acting to hinder, the plan of salvation (in particular they would not have killed Jesus had they realized it would be their undoing). No Jewish scholar expected a Messiah like Jesus although the pieces were there, but no one could have put all the pieces together except in hindsight. I will say Heiser's view of free will makes me a little uncomfortable, especially here (it sort of seems like he thinks Satan could have successfully disrupted God's plans?). But if he is right - should we assume our interpretations of eschatological prophecy are any more accurate?

All those statements will surely provoke a lot of questions, but he marshals a lot of scripture in defense of his positions - but you'll have to read the book for that. I can also certify with near 100% certainty that you won't agree with everything he writes (I sure didn't), but a worthwhile read all the same.

I will say that one result of reading the book for me was enhanced confidence in scripture. Heiser examines the Bible with a microscope, paying attention to little details of phrasing, pulling in extra-Biblical documents to show parallels and aid understanding... and produces a detailed, coherent, and consistent worldview from Genesis to Revelation. I left feeling even more convinced that "you can trust the Bible", in all its details. (I also left much more convinced that a knowledge of the original languages is quite helpful in understanding scripture.)...more

One of those fun sci-fi + history novels, and yea I shall be discussing the correctness of some of the quantum mechanics depicted with my class tomorrOne of those fun sci-fi + history novels, and yea I shall be discussing the correctness of some of the quantum mechanics depicted with my class tomorrow! But the main characters of the book actually spend more time back in the "dark ages" of Europe, and Crichton says in the Acknowledgments that he took pains to reproduce them accurately. So that is probably the most-fun part of the book. On a philosophical level, I especially appreciated character monologues about how...

1. The present is very much the result of the past, yet we ignore that past and treat our present surroundings as if they were somehow inevitable and obviously correct. (And better.)

2. Science if often about uncertainties and tradeoffs and nuance - and media reports tend to obliterate all three.

An extended exposition of the book of Philippians centered around finding your life in Christ (could you guess?). One of those books that might not teAn extended exposition of the book of Philippians centered around finding your life in Christ (could you guess?). One of those books that might not teach you a lot that is "new" to you, but certainly reminds you of a bunch of stuff you almost always need reminded of. So recommended, and I thought it got better as it went on. (Or maybe I just need reminded about where I find contentment as another busy semester is about to begin! Last chapter, that.)

Only three stars because... I felt the book was an awkward length. I guess I felt like the author sometimes drew stuff out of passages that, while perhaps true, didn't really seem to follow from the passage, at least not to me. And I don't like that. If any chapter had been a book and the topics could have been given there full treatment, would've been fine. If all that "extra stuff" was chopped out and the whole book made into a shorter pamphlet, that would've been fine. But I think Matt felt obliged to say too much in too short a space....more